Bible Strands
Isaiah 41:25
I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—one from the east who calls on My name. He will march over rulers as if they were mortar, like a potter who treads the clay.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks in Isaiah 41, addressing the nations and their idols after declaring their worthlessness in 41:24 and before challenging their inability to predict the future in 41:26. He asserts His authority to summon a conqueror from specific geographical directions to execute judgment.
The words — הַעִיר֤וֹתִי (ha.'i.Ro.ti) literally means "I have stirred up," and מִ/צָּפוֹן (mi./tza.fOn) denotes "from the north." These terms ground the verse in divine initiative rather than human strategy.
The thread — The motif of God arousing a figure to execute judgment appears in Isaiah 41:2, where a ruler from the east is called to righteousness. The imagery of trampling enemies like mud or mortar recurs in 2 Samuel 22:43 and Isaiah 10:6.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that historical power shifts are directed by God, not by the counsel of idols or human foresight. It requires the reader to abandon trust in visible powers and submit to the sovereignty that raises and removes rulers.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 41:2 Who has aroused one from the east and called him to his feet in righteousness? He hands nations over to him and subdues kings before him. He turns them to dust with his sword, to windblown chaff with his bow.
- 2 Samuel 22:43 I ground them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and trampled them like mud in the streets.
- Isaiah 10:6 I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.
- Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”
- Isaiah 46:10 I declare the end from the beginning, and from ancient times what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’
- Micah 7:10 Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.
- Zechariah 10:5 They will be like mighty men in battle, trampling the enemy in the mire of the streets. They will fight because the LORD is with them, and they will put the horsemen to shame.
- Ezra 1:2 “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, who has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, has appointed me to build a house for Him at Jerusalem in Judah.
- Isaiah 21:2 A dire vision is declared to me: “The traitor still betrays, and the destroyer still destroys. Go up, O Elam! Lay siege, O Media! I will put an end to all her groaning.”
- Isaiah 45:13 I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness, and I will make all his ways straight. He will rebuild My city and set My exiles free, but not for payment or reward, says the LORD of Hosts.”